


Jewels of the Sea

by steelrunner



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Birthday, Courtship, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Oblivious Shiro (Voltron), Requited Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 18:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12238770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steelrunner/pseuds/steelrunner
Summary: “He forgot,” Keith said, before Shiro could get out a word.“He - ” Allura tilted her head, voice filling with fond exasperation. "Shiro, did you really?”





	Jewels of the Sea

The sunlight shone down through the ocean waters, streaks of white light falling over the cliffs and reefs, glinting off the schools of fish that rose and fell, moving with the tide. From a distance, Shiro thought it almost looked like a net, with the way the lines interlaced. He hovered a few feet above the last drop-off before the reef proper, powerful black tail stirring through the water to keep himself suspended. It was difficult to look down at himself in the stark brightness; the ragged fins, scars that had fused his scales together in knotted lines and ripped his skin - the gaping emptiness along his right side. But Shiro had other things to concentrate on, right now.

Shiro held up his hand to shield his eyes, squinting into the distance. There - just over the crest of cliffs - the shape of another mer swimming towards him. It was easy enough to recognize them from this difference, with that long, lithe silhouette and those shimmering red scales.

“Keith!” Shiro called. He raised his arm above his head, waving.

Keith raised his arm in return, swimming closer. Soon Shiro could make out the thick black lines of his tattoos over the pale skin of his torso. He looked almost entirely like any other mer; only the tattoos and the dark violet of his eyes gave a hint towards any Galra heritage. 

Keith finally reached him, and they both reached out for a brief hug before saying anything. When they parted, Shiro clasped Keith’s shoulder, examining him at arm-length. His black hair was still overlong, the tips coming close to touching the base of his neck. No new scars, much to his relief, though Keith’s dagger was still strapped around his waist, next to a small pouch. “It’s good to see you! How have you been?”

“I’m doing alright,” Keith said. “And you?”

“The same.” Shiro shrugged. “How’s the rest of the colony?”

“They’re all doing fine,” Keith said. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth, the end of his tail-fin scattering the loose sand over the rock. “What about the Garrison? Anything new?”

"Oh, it's the same as always." Or Shiro assumed they were, anyway. He wasn't involved in the community that much anymore - it was hard to be, living out near the edge of the settlement. Not that Keith knew about that. "So, why did you want to see me today? You were so insistent about it.”

Keith grinned, shaking his head. “Skies above, Shiro. Are you telling me you actually forgot?"

"Forgot what?"

“I don’t know.” Still grinning, Keith pushed himself forward, circling around Shiro. Shiro turned to follow him - and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something else swimming towards them, weaving between the white shafts of light. “I’m sure it’ll come to you _eventually_ \- ”

“Wait.” Shiro held up his hand, and Keith paused. “I think someone’s coming.”

Keith's hand dropped to his knife, but Shiro just leaned forward, staring out into the water. It was definitely another mer - not Galra, some part of his brain asserted in reassurance, catching a glimpse of the slender frame. The mer swam through a patch of sun, and Shiro pulled back, blinking. In the sunlight, he could have sworn the scales had flashed silver-white, and he only knew one mer like that. He wasn’t sure he believed what he was seeing. It couldn’t be.

But it was.

Shiro dove forward without hesitation, pushing himself to make the distance to the spot above the plains where the mer hovered, even as Keith raced to catch up to him.

“Over here!” Shiro called out, and Allura raised a hand to wave back, putting on a burst of speed that propelled her down towards them. She was faintly flushed with exertion, but still smiling. The lean shape of Allura’s body was something entirely different from Keith and Shiro’s; her scales extended far above the waist, blending into her dark skin just below the chest, and the length of her tail put Shiro’s and Keith’s both to shame: slim and graceful, with crimped, trailing fins fluttering pink and blue. It had been nearly a whole season since Shiro had seen her, and that had been in her home colony, miles away.

She faltered a bit, apparently at seeing Keith, but swam forward nonetheless. Shiro inclined his head as she approached, a habit of formality, as did Keith a moment later. Allura wasn’t dressed in full, elaborate fashion, the way the Alteans tended to, but Shiro privately thought she looked just as well in only her wrapped top, masses of white hair tied back behind her head.

“Good morning, Your Highness - ” Allura gave him a look of playful frustration, and Shiro acquiesced, “ - Allura. How are you?”

“I’m quite well, thank you for asking!" Allura drew herself upright, tone going more formal. “Hello, Keith.”

“Hi,” Keith said. He didn't hide the petulance in his voice, and Shiro shot him a sidelong look. He'd heard that relations between the Altean colony and the Marmoran colony had been improving of late, but apparently not on a personal level.

Time to ignore that, then, and move the conversation right along. “What brings you all the way out here?”

Allura looked surprised. “Don’t you know?”

“He forgot,” Keith said, before Shiro could get out a word.

“He - ” Allura tilted her head, voice filling with fond exasperation. "Shiro, did you really?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “First Keith and now you. Is it possible for me to find out what you’re talking about, at some point?”

“Maybe if you asked,” Keith said, part of that grin slipping back onto his face.

“Fine. Then why are you both here?”

Allura smiled sunnily. “Well, to wish you a happy name-day, of course!”

“My - ” Shiro opened his mouth in real surprise, then stopped to think. It was getting to be the time of the second moon, so maybe it was - actually, it _had_ to be the new moon tonight, because there were supposed to be extra patrols out. It _was_ his name-day. Shiro hadn’t celebrated it in…years. “You remembered?”

“Obviously better than you,” Keith said. 

"Hmm," Allura said. She crossed her arms, swishing her tail mischievously. "If he forgot, do you think he'll still want the gifts? Or should we just keep them to ourselves?"

"Gifts?" Shiro’s eyes widened further. “Oh, you didn’t have to - ”

Keith and Allura gave him a dismissive look in near unison. “Of course we did,” Allura said briskly. “The question is, do you you want them or not?”

“Well - I mean - yes, I suppose - ”

“Excellent.” Allura swam forward, drawing close to Shiro as she produced a drawstring bag, tightly looped around her wrist. “Now, hold out your hand.”

Shiro watched, curious, as Allura loosened the tie and tipped it out over his outstretched hand. It was - “ - oh!”

A string of beads spilled out onto his palm, and Shiro grabbed them quickly, before they could float away. It was a necklace strung on pale wire. The beads were even bluer than the water around them, a clear, shining aquamarine - Shiro’d seen this material before, on the rare occasions he’d seen Allura’s formal crown and jewelry. He couldn’t recall the exact name of it - scaleite? Scaultrite, that was it. Whatever it was called, he knew that it was rare, and he could barely imagine what a necklace like this was worth, with so much work put into its carving and polishing. 

Allura beamed, hands clasped in front of her. “What do you think?”

“This is - ” Shiro shook his head. “It’s so beautiful - I don't know what I'll do with it.”

Allura waved off his hesitation, giving him a delighted smile. “You’ll wear it, of course.” She leaned in, but paused, hovering. “Here, is it alright - ?”

Shiro offered the necklace to her, and Allura took it, unhooking the clasp easily before she moved behind him. Her tail dragged against his in the passing, a cool, fleeting touch. 

The beads settled heavily against the base of his throat, and Allura hummed as the clasp snapped shut. “There you are.” She moved to face him. “It looks lovely on you.”

Oh stars, was he blushing? Shiro could feel his face getting hot. “Oh…thank you.”

Keith moved forward, past Allura until he and Shiro were nearly abreast. He ducked his head, rummaging through the pouches strapped at his waist before holding out his gift - another necklace, to Shiro’s surprise. “Um - here’s mine.”

Shiro took it carefully, letting it spread open to reveal several loops of twine braided with hanging shells. It was more clearly handcrafted than Allura’s gift, but every line of it was carefully constructed; the shells carved at the right angles to show off all their purples and reds, flushed with gold at the edges. His stomach flipped, to think of how long Keith had clearly worked on this - more time and care than he had expected a young warrior living all the way in another settlement to dedicate.

“It’s wonderful,” he said, looking back up at Keith. Some of the genuine affection he felt must have come through in his expression, because a little color rose in Keith’s cheeks, and he smiled before looking down, clearly satisfied.

Unlike Allura’s, Keith’s necklace didn’t have a latch on it. Shiro pulled the necklace over his head, and it settled alongside Allura’s necklace, clinking gently. “Thank you - thank you both - so much.”

Keith straightened up, and Allura nodded, looking pleased. “I know you must be busy at your colony - ” she said, “ - but if you’re ever interested in a change, I’d be happy to host you at the Castle.”

“Or maybe at the base?” Keith said. “I know Ulaz has been wondering how you’ve been recovering.”

“Yeah!” Shiro said, excitement bubbling up in his chest. “I’d love to visit, as long as it wouldn’t be a bother to you.”

“Of course it wouldn’t be,” Keith said. He rubbed at the join of his scales and skin. “Would you like to come today, or - ?”

“Oh, I wish I could,” Shiro sighed. “I’m afraid I’ve got calf-minding duty for the rest of the week, but I’ll be sure to drop by soon.”

They both looked heartened at that. Shiro couldn’t help the tug of reluctance in his chest when they eventually made their goodbyes, exchanging another hug with Keith and a quick, warm embrace from Allura.

He watched until the two of them had become dots in the distance before he turned towards home, unable to keep a smile off his face as he glanced down at his presents. Interesting that they had both thought along the same lines for a gift; necklaces were usually reserved for things like courting gifts, not name-day presents. But it had been very kind of them both just to remember - Shiro wasn’t about to start questioning their tastes.

Shiro looked down again, admiring the violet and blue shining next to each other, and then set his mind back to the task at hand, smiling as he swam away towards home.

**Author's Note:**

> Unmentioned background information for this AU:
> 
> \- There are three mer colonies in the area: the Garrison, the Alteans, who emigrated from the Southern Seas, and the Marmorans, who are the most recent settlers.
> 
> \- Keith was raised in the Garrison, but his mother was actually a Marmoran. He joined their colony and helped them acclimate to their new neighbors.
> 
> \- There are two types of mer: siren-types, like Shiro and Allura, who are much more humanoid, and the Galra, who are more similar to their canon counterparts. Keith is a rare crossbreed.
> 
> \- The Alteans were nearly wiped out several years ago, not by the Marmorans, but by another Galra colony. Still, their relations are rather terse, which contributes to the tension between Keith and Allura.
> 
> \- Another contributor is that certain elements in both colonies are trying to arrange a political marriage between the two, which they both know about. They haven't told Shiro.
> 
> \- Shiro also lost his arm in another Galra attack; he was held prisoner for several months. Keith led the counterattack that rescued him (assisted by Marmoran scouts). He spent some time recovering in the Alteans’ Castle, where he met Allura.


End file.
